Dolphins' Week 7 healthy inactive called a top trade deadline candidate

Matt Sullivan

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Dolphins' Week 7 healthy inactive called a top trade deadline candidate image

The Miami Dolphins are 1-5, and likely one of the top sellers at the 2025 NFL Trade deadline. With Tyreek Hill done for the year, Miami's outlook is vastly different than if he were healthy.

After back-to-back crushing losses, the Dolphins are viewed as a team to trade with this season. Jaylen Waddle has been thrown around in trade rumors, but he's not likely to be dealt. The same can't be said for a trio of pass rushers, all of whom could be dealt.

But of the three, neither Bradley Chubb nor Jaelan Phillips is the most likely player to be dealt. That distinction goes to a $3 million free agent that the Dolphins scooped up this offseason, and is a healthy inactive for Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns.

Dolphins Week 7 healthy inactive named a top trade candidate

As Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports, Dolphins linebacker Matthew Judon "is a healthy scratch" for the team's Week 7 matchup against the Browns. This isn't just a simple start-sit decision, as Judon is a top trade candidate on the Dolphins roster.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, while a Waddle trade is not likely, one of the pass rushers in Miami being dealt is very much on the table.

"While things can change," Rapoport writes, "it seems far more likely Miami would be willing to deal an edge rusher (perhaps Matt Judon, Bradley Chubb, or even Jaelan Phillips)."

Of those three, with Judon's healthy inactive in Week 7, he's the most likely edge rusher that the Dolphins could trade this season. Aside from the fact that even when healthy, he's not suiting up for Miami, Judon is also on a very cheap $3 million deal for only 2025.

A team trading for Judon would be getting a veteran outside linebacker who can get after the quarterback. While in six games so far this season, Judon hasn't recorded a sack or a tackle for loss, he's not had much of a chance to do so, playing just 32 percent of the snaps.

More: Dolphins could trade 2024 draft pick after just one year in Miami

For a pass-rusher-needy team, like the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, or San Francisco 49ers, Judon could be a pass rusher to target that's cheap and has some upside.

In 2021 and 2022, Judon had 12.5 and 15.5 sacks with the New England Patriots. While he's a few years removed from those productive seasons, he's coming off a 5.5 sack year in 2024 for the Atlanta Falcons.

Adding a four-time Pro Bowler like Judon for cheap at the deadline is a move that can easily be made by the top contenders in the NFL. And with Miami not playing Judon despite being healthy, his availability is clear.

While Phillips and Chubb are the subject of trade rumors and could both be traded, the most likely player for the Dolphins to ship off this season, based on the evidence at hand, is Judon.

The 33-year-old pass rusher could be on a new team soon, as the healthy inactive and the report from Rapoport indicate that Judon is more than just a trade candidate; he's a clear target for any team eyeing pass rush help this season.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.